Apparatus for arranging articles for stacking



Nov. 26, 1929.

A. E. BURTCHAELL APPARATUS FOR ARRANGING ARTICLES'FOR STACKING Filed Feb. 20, 1926 2 SheetS-Sheet 1 www @Wm Nov. `26, 1929.v A. E. BURTCHAELL 1,737,042

APPARATUS FOR RRANGING ARTICLES lFOR STCKING Filed Feb. 2o, 192e 2 Sheets-sheet. 2

g @TW Patented Nov. Z3, lili/.59

ARTHUR E.

APPARATUS FOR ARRANGQN Application filed February 2G, 1926.

rlhis invention relates to an apparatus for arranging articles, preferably flat disk shaped articles, such as cookies, crackers, cakes and the like, which have been removed from a surface on which they have been arranged in successively crowded rows, into parallel rows with corresponding edges of adjacent articles in any one row overlapping, positioning the articles at an incline to the horizontal, enabling any group of articles in any one row to be quickly arranged in stack formation by grasping two widely separated articles in any given row, and pushing the same toward each other, causing the intermediate articles to ride on one another and to be raised from a relatively horizontal position with their edges in slightly overlapping relation to a horizontal row with the articles in substantial vertical position, with their faces in contact, enabling the assembled group to be picked up and quickly packaged.

The apparatus is designed primarily for removing cakes and other baked goods from baking pans presented to the apparatus in timed relation in an endless stream and in removing the articles in such manner as to enable the stacking and packing of the same in a symmetrical and uniform manner, rapidly, at little cost, and with but few operators.

rllhe apparatus consists essentially of an arrangement of coacting conveying belts for receiving the articles as removed from the pans, the belts travelling at prearranged speeds and arranged in cooperating relation to automatically transfer the articles from one belt to another; there being in cooperation with certain of the belts, devices or mechanism for aligning the articles in rows and for insuring their discharge from the belts in a predetermined manner.

vvllith the above mentioned and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel construction and combination of parts hereinafter described, illustrated in the aocompanying drawings and pointed out in the claim hereto appended; it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, sise and minor details of construction within the scope of the claim may be resorted to BURTGHAELL, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALFOB'NIA Cr ARTCLES FOR STACKING Serial No. 89,543.

without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings illustrating one embodiment of my invention-Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation.

Fig. 2 is a view in top plan.

Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse sectional view on line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

F ig. 4 is a detail sectional view on line 4 4 of F ig. 1. 60

5 is a diagrammatic vieW illustrating in outline the various belt flights arranged in cooperating relation.

To one end of the frame 1 are delivered, by an endless tray feed conveyer, consisting of chains 2 operating over sprockets 3, successive filled trays or pans containing the articles to be sorted, stacked and packed. These pans are the usual baking pans or trays having a relatively narrow upstanding periph- 7o eral edge.

The sprockets 3 are carried by a shaft 4 at the end of frame 1, and the shaft also mounts sprockets 5 in alignment with sprockets 6 on a shaft 3 disposed parallel with shaft 4 75 and carried by frame 1.

Sprockets 5 and 6 mount -endless conveyer chains 9 carrying aligned angle brackets 10. These chains 9 also operate over idler sprockets 7 and constitute a conveyer for receiving the trays from t-he tray feeding conveyer and for propelling the same to the means for removing articles from the upper surface of the pans. The upper flight of the chains 9 operate in incline guides 11, U-shaped in e5 cross section, and on which slide the bottoms of the successive pans or trays are conveyed by the chains longitudinally of one end of the frame 1.

The opposite sides of the pans or trays while being conveyed by chains 9 also overlie pan guides 12 disposed parallel with the sides of the frame 1, Fig. 4. The guides 12 pivotally mount arms 13 extending parallel therewith and which carry on their ends substantially wedge shaped pan centering members 14 which center' the successive pans relatively to the pan scrapers hereinafter described, and hold the pans from riding above the angle brackets 10. Springs 15 maintain the centering members 14C in yieldable contact with the pan edges.

The articles are removed from the pans by the hereinafter described mechanism operating as follows.

Disposed transversely of the frame 1, approximately: at the ends of the guides 12, is a bar 16 mounting corresponding ends ofa plurality of parallel flexible scrapers 17ersV tending at a slight downward inclinefromt and at substantially right angles to the edge of the bar toward the direction ofapproach of the filled pans as conveyed by the chains 9. The bar 16 connects at its ends with support--` ing lever 18 fulcrumed at corresponding ends to the ends of shaft 19disposedltransversely of. the frame-1 approximately' midway of `its length. At itsends thebarlcarries 'adj usting screws 20 witlrwhicli areadapted to con'-V tact the free ends of cam levers 22 of relatively long length and fulcrumed atfitheirlopposite ends *to* a shaft 23 extending transversely of the frame 1 belowfthe'guides 11. Each cam lever 22 carries `a cam roller 2l riding on the peripheriesof the respective cams 2 5 carriedv on the ends offshaft 8'.. 'lhecamsare timed relatively to the-pan feedbrackets rlOto raise the Scrapers 17 as the forward flanged'edges of successive pans approach t'he'ends ofV thev scrapers, lower-thescrapers `onto the pan-sur` face to release the articles therefrom, andenablethearticles to slide upwardly thereon, and to raise'andlcl'earfthe, reary flange ofthe pan" and pan feed brackets "as, the same`- ap*- proach the scraper-ends; The .adjustment off the screws 20 varies the movement ofJ thel Scrapers l17. Springs*QG'bearonlevers 13-to normally press the same downwardly to Vmain'-l tain the screw ends in` contact with the ends of cam levers 22;

On al rotatable shaft27extendingparallelV with `and above the'scraperl are-mounted the lieiible scraper 'blades' 28; preferably of" rubller, disposed radially oftlieshaft with their `free ends adaptedto contactl with thei articles as the` saine' ride' upwardly on the surface of the Vscraper 17, with tlieiiradjacentl edges in contact, and to propelorsweep themin horizontal rows `over the Scrapers randdisL charge thenrfrom the-rear edgethereof onto the talle off belt, hereinafter"describedi Disposed transversely Lof-*the armsl 13,` immediately in rear ofthe Abarl 16, is a belt guide' 29 adjustable with the arms and aroundthe' same operates the'take-olf'belt 30,"the upper flight of which is upwardly inclined, andlat' its upper end passes over a guide 31, and after leaving the guide extends downwardlyover a roller 3201i a lrotatable shaft 33, and extends over an idler roller 34 to apoint where 1t`con nects with the -lowerf end of^theportion constituting the upper flight:` Thesliaft--33'lis-L disposed transversely Vofthe frame A1 beneath the guide 31. The takei-oll'belt travels ata speed slightly less than that ofthe conveyor chains 9, the relatively normal speeds being the conveyor chains .932 feet per minute and the take-olf belt-28 feet per minute. Due to the slower speed of the take-olf belt than that of the conveyor chains, the articles as delivered to the take-oill belt by the blades 23u-infill lie in close relation on the surface of the belt'diningthetravel of its upward flight` From the take-olic belt the articles are de livered'to abeltv 350i relatively short length, with its upper flight disposed in a horizontal plane, the belt operating at its ends over relatively small rollers 36 and 3'?, the roller 37 being rotated to drivethe belt at a relatively high speed, approximately 150 feet per minute, by the following mechanism;

Cooperating with a pulley 38 onv the end of roller 37' is al belt 39passing around the periphery `of a relatively. large diameter wheel 40, carried by a shaft 411. The be t 39"-is maintained-'under tension by the'idler'pulley 4t2 beneath which it passes. rlhel wheelI 40 is drivenv through a flexible Aconnection i3 passing aroundl another wheel llf'of a' diameter smaller'than the' wheel t() and? carried by a shaft' 45 disposedltransversely ofthe frame 1 at a point approximatelybeneath theidler wheel 34; The shaft/l5 mounts a sprocket itl over which operates aA chain- 47 riding on a sprocket 48 associated withshaft 33; thus' a drivingv connectionfis established between shafts l5 andv 33.

Disposed transversely of" the planeof -t-ravel'lofthe higlr speed belt 35v andAV ar rangedabove its Yupper flightis aA supporting bar 49 carried atl` its ends" on brackets 50. Dependingifromthebar i9 are a plurality of parallelv spaced' division pins 51, the lower ends `of'which terminate substantially in contactfwitlilthe'upper flight of belt 35. These divisionlpins are separated from each. other asufficient distance toadmit of the articles conv-eyed by' the belt-35 to pass between-the sameand their function is to arrange the articles asconveyedby the belt 35 so that they will be discharged ltherefromvonto the spacing oristacking belt, hereinafter described,` into paralleli spacedtrows.`A Also Acarried by the brackets 50,# in advanceof the member 49, is aa' support' 52,1downwardly from-which eX- tendsaflexible plate K53 disposed at an incline, with :its lower free edge -terminating adjacentV the lower ends ofthe pins 5l. The lower edge ofithe plate 53 isslottedlat 54 to provide yielding ngers beneath which, with their upper sur-faces in contact, .travelthe articles as propelled by` the belt. The function of the plate 53 is to lma-intainthe articles in a layer of single thickness, and Vto prevent their jumping` each other when passing between the pins 51.'

It. will 'be observed that fromthe relatively' different speeds of the takeloiflbelt 30 and the high speed belt 35 that the articles as slowly delivered to the-highspeed belt 35 from the take-off belt 30 are quickly propelled by the hiO'h speed belt, and due to its short length,

are rapidly discharged therefrom after the same are spaced by passing between the pins 51. F rom the high speed belt 35 the articles are delivered onto a spacing or stacking belt, constructed and operated in the following manner.

Disposed transversely of the frame 1 are the belt guides 55 and 56, the guide 56 lying with one edge in close proximity to the roller 36 and over said guides opv erates a spacing belt 57 which also operates over a roller 58, driven by a connection 59, operated from a sprocket 60 carried by the shaft 33. The upper flight of the spacing and stacking belt 57 is disposed in a. plane slightly below the plane of the upper flight of the high speed belt 35, and overlying the receiving end of the upper flight of the belt 57 is a flexible plate 61, slotted at its lower end with its upper end carried by a support 62 disposed parallel with the supports 49 and 52. The plate 61 extends in close proximity to the upper flight of the spacing belt 57 and its function is to eliminate climbing of the articles as they are passed onto the spacing` and stacking belt from the high speed belt 35. The spacing and stacking belt operates at a speed 3o of approximately 42' feet per minute, and it will be observed that this is greater than that of the take-off belt and less than that of the high speed belt, but it insures the articles to be deposited thereon by the high speed belt in substantially uniform rows, parallel spaced from each other, with the articles of any given row in close relation to each other.

From the spacing or stacking belt the articles are discharged onto a packing belt, travcling at a considerably lower speed than the spacing or stacking belt, the speed of the packing belt being approximately 8 feet per minute. rlhe forward end of the packing belt 63 operates over a belt guide 64, disposed parallel with the guide 55, in close proximity thereto, and in a plane slightly beneath the same and over said guide 64 the belt 63 operates in the direction of the arrows, Figs. 1 and 5.

As previously explained, the belt 63 operates slightly less than one-fifth the speed of the spacing or stacking belt, therefore, it will be apparent that the articles delivered thereonto by the belt 57 will lie in slightly overlapping relation. To insure this overlapping relation, a plurality of stacking springs 65 supported at one end on a bar 66, at right angles from which the same extend, with their main leg' 67 downwardly inclined and terminating above the belt guide 55, are provided. The free ends 68 of the springs 65 are disposed in a substantially horizontal plane overlying the belt guides and 64, insuring the articles as they pass over the guide C5 of the belt 57, to assume a horizontal position until their rear edges leave the discharge edge of the guide 55.Y This action insures successive articles to assume their proper relation on each other when deposited onto the packing belt 63.

It will thus be apparent that'by this apparatus the articles which are removed from the upper surface of the pans and which are contained thereon, all in the same plane, are separated into parallel rows, and that the are ticles of any given row are deposited one on the other in inclined relation, so that the operator may group two widely separated articles of any given row, and by moving the same toward each other, will cause the ad-l jacent articles of that row to gradually assume a vertical edge position with their faces in contact, enabling these articles, while pressure is maintained on the end members, to be lifted as a unit. By this apparatus the now prevailing practice of operators by hand picking the articles, one at a time from the pan, is obviated, and mechanical means are provided for carrying out this work.

To insure contact of the spacing and stacle ing' belt 57 with the roller 53, and the take-off belt with the roller 32, yieldable surface squeezing rollers 70 and'71 are provided, Fig. 1 of the drawings.

The spacing and stacking belt 57 is driven through a connection 72 from the roller 37.

Parallel intergeared shafts 73 and 74 are rotatably mounted beneath the shaft 27 and the latter shaft connects through a drive connection 75 with shaft 74, so that the shaft 27 will rotate in the direction of the arrow, 1. rlhe shaft 7 3 is connected through a chain 76 with a sprocket 77 on shaft 3.

The empty pans, as the same pass beneath the scrapers 17, are propelled longitudinally of the angle guide 73 by endless conveyers 79, operating at one end over sprockets 30, and its opposite'ends over sprockets 81 on shaft 45. The endless tray feed conveyor chains 2 afford a driving means for the member 9 and the parts interconnected and intergeared with each other consisting namely of the shaft 3, gear 7, shafts 73 and 74 and shaft 27. The shaft 41 is the power or drive shaft for the respective conveyor belts 30, 35, 57 and 63.

I claim A cake or biscuit stacking apparatus comprising an endless belt for receiving articles to be stacked, a second endless belt travelling at a speed higher than the first belt for receiving the articles discharging from the first belt, article aligning pins projecting downwardly in parallel relation into proximity to the surface of the second belt whereby the articles conveyed thereby are caused to travel therebetween and are thereby formed in parallel rows, means projecting between the pins for acting on the rows of articles as formed to preclude the articles from riding one on another, a third endless belt travelling at a speed less than that of the second belt for receiving articles discharged from the second belt in aligned rows with the articles of the respective rows in close relation, an endless stacking belt travelling at a speed less than that 0f the third belt with its receiving end slightly lower than the discharge end of the third belt for receiving articles from said third belt, and springs overlying the respective rows of articles and projecting beyond the discharge end of the third belt, whereby the articles discharge therefrom onto the stacking belt ina snbstantiah ly horizontal position.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

ARTHUR E. BURTGHAELL. 

